A worthy officer i' the war; but insolent,
O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all thinking,
Self-loving,—
Sic. And affecting one sole throne, 32
Without assistance.
Men. I think not so.
Sic. We should by this, to all our lamentation,
If he had gone forth consul, found it so.
Bru. The gods have well prevented it, and Rome 36
Sits safe and still without him.
Enter an Ædile.
Æd. Worthy tribunes,
There is a slave, whom we have put in prison,
Reports, the Volsces with two several powers
Are enter'd in the Roman territories, 40
And with the deepest malice of the war
Destroy what lies before 'em.
Men. 'Tis Aufidius,
Who, hearing of our Martius' banishment,
Thrusts forth his horns again into the world; 44
Which were inshell'd when Martius stood for Rome,
And durst not once peep out.
Sic. Come, what talk you of Martius?
Bru. Go see this rumourer whipp'd. It cannot be 48
The Volsces dare break with us.
Men. Cannot be!
We have record that very well it can,
And three examples of the like hath been
Within my age. But reason with the fellow, 52
32 affecting . . . throne: aiming at individual sovereignty
34 by this: by this time
to . . . lamentation: to the sorrow of us all
35 gone forth: come out, finally become
found: have found
44 Thrusts . . . horns; cf. n.
45 inshell'd: drawn within the shell
stood for: was champion of
47 what: why
